The following is an email I just sent to the Irish Times after discovering this new law.

As an Irishman now living in the United States, I was dismayed and embarrassed by the new Blasphemy law that is apparently now official policy in Ireland. Under this law, the Good Friday “Prayer for Conversion of the Jews” as revised by Pope Benedict and which is certainly insulting to Jews should therefore now be considered a crime. Will every church in Ireland now be fined €25,000 every year for reciting it?

That was not very well coordinated. I feel sure they would have liked that in place before the Ryan and Murphy reports came out. Is Ireland like Australia in that it permits religions to operate provided they abide by the law of the country? The fact that the church has universal law (Decree Crimen) which is in breach of most constitutions does not appear to faze them or their followers.

The decree Crimen is but one of many laws the church operates and puts before the laws of the land they operate in – sexual crimes are matters for criminal courts, they are not matters for churches. While the decree Crimen remains in force and demands secrecy along with many others Canons of the church they will be operating outside the requirements of separation of church and state. No church should have rules or laws relating to anything that comes under a constitution as when they do they are weakening or modifying existing civil law.

As for blasphemy – when Catholic priests and bishops or Catholic in general make comment or statements in regards matters of justice, community and human rights they should be reminded that their church endorses rape as part of their religion through its antiquated laws – when they have that fixed and they have tended to all the victims then they and only then could they be considered to be able to speak without blasphemy and hypocrisy.

The many blasphemous blogs that exist on the Internet and that are accessible in Ireland.

Religions, for blaspheming against each other.

In the next Irish census, in 2011, encourage all atheists to to put down ‘Pastafarian’ (or some other agreed spoof) as their religion. Attempt to get so many Pastafarians registered that the Government has to recognise it as a religion. Then prosecute anyone who dares blaspheme His Noodliness, The Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Better watch your step folks, I’m forming a new religion. We haven’t got many members yet, but I’m sure we’ll take Ireland by storm. Our central philosophy is that the colour yellow was created by the sin of man, and the wearing of a garment coloured yellow is an insult of the highest order.
Our outrage at seeing so many people in Ireland ignore our sacred beliefs knows no bounds, and we will stop at nothing to have this blasphemous practise stamped out with the aid of our friends, the Irish government. We plan to take every case of blasphemy we meet to court and distribute our righteous earnings amongst our members! None shall be spared!

I hope that you fight the good fight on this issue. I wish I could support you financially. Unfortunately, I cannot since I have been without a job for the past year due to the wonderful economic policies (sarcasm intended) of George W. Bush.

I am still trying to decide whether I am a humanist, agnostic, or atheist. However, I do know that I am a nonbeliever.

If a Catholic priest states that Protestants hold incorrect religious beliefs and that they will suffer God’s wrath because of those incorrect beliefs, can he be prosecuted under the new blasphemy law? How about if he says the same thing about Islam? Or Scientologists?

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